Solid-State Lighting With Auto-Tests And Data Communications

ABSTRACT

A light-emitting diode (LED) luminaire comprises an emergency-operated portion comprising a battery, a self-diagnostic circuit comprising a test portion configured to auto-evaluate battery performance, a first controller, and a node modulator-demodulator (MODEM). The LED luminaire can auto-switch from a normal power to an emergency power according to availability of the normal power and whether a battery test is initiated. The first controller is configured to communicate between the test portion and the node MODEM, ensuring command data and test data respectively to be transferred to the self-diagnostic circuit and to a remote control unit that comprises a data-centric circuitry comprising a variety of data communication devices configured to initiate the command data with phase-shift keying (PSK) signals transmitted via a principal MODEM and to periodically collect the test data to and from the node MODEM. The test data assembled are ultimately transferred to a root server for further reviews.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present disclosure is part of a continuation-in-part (CIP)application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/122,942, filed 15Dec. 2020, which is part of CIP application of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 17/099,450, filed 16 Nov. 2020, which is part of CIPapplication of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/076,748, filed 21Oct. 2020, which is part of CIP application of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 17/026,903, filed 21 Sep. 2020, which is part of CIPapplication of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/016,296, filed 9 Sep.2020, which is part of CIP application of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 16/989,016, filed 10 Aug. 2020, which is part of CIP application ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/929,540, filed 15 Jul. 2020, whichis part of CIP application of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/904,206, filed 17 Jun. 2020, which is part of CIP application of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 16/880,375, filed 21 May 2020, which is partof CIP application of U.S. patent application Ser. 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BACKGROUND Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to light-emitting diode (LED) luminairesand more particularly to an LED luminaire that auto-test a rechargeablebattery according to a test schedule provided by a real-time clock andto data communications among various devices in a data centriccircuitry.

Description of the Related Art

Solid-state lighting from semiconductor LEDs has received much attentionin general lighting applications today. Because of its potential formore energy savings, better environmental protection (with no hazardousmaterials used), higher efficiency, smaller size, and longer lifetimethan conventional incandescent bulbs and fluorescent tubes, theLED-based solid-state lighting will be a mainstream for general lightingin the near future. Meanwhile, as LED technologies develop with thedrive for energy efficiency and clean technologies worldwide, morefamilies and organizations will adopt LED lighting for theirillumination applications. In this trend, the potential safety concernssuch as risk of electric shock and fire become especially important andneed to be well addressed.

In today's retrofit applications of an LED luminaire to replace anexisting fluorescent luminaire, consumers may choose either to adopt aballast-compatible LED luminaire with an existing ballast used tooperate the fluorescent luminaire or to employ an alternate-current (AC)mains-operable LED luminaire by removing/bypassing the ballast. Eitherapplication has its advantages and disadvantages. In the former case,although the ballast consumes extra power, it is straightforward toreplace the fluorescent luminaire without rewiring, which consumers havea first impression that it is the best alternative. But the fact is thattotal cost of ownership for this approach is high regardless of very lowinitial cost. For example, the ballast-compatible LED luminaires workonly with particular types of ballasts. If the existing ballast is notcompatible with the ballast-compatible LED luminaire, the consumer willhave to replace the ballast. Some facilities built long time agoincorporate different types of fixtures, which requires extensive laborfor both identifying ballasts and replacing incompatible ones. Moreover,the ballast-compatible LED luminaire can operate longer than theballast. When an old ballast fails, a new ballast will be needed toreplace in order to keep the ballast-compatible LED luminaires working.Maintenance will be complicated, sometimes for the luminaires andsometimes for the ballasts. The incurred cost will preponderate over theinitial cost savings by changeover to the ballast-compatible LEDluminaires for hundreds of fixtures throughout a facility. In addition,replacing a failed ballast requires a certified electrician. The laborcosts and long-term maintenance costs will be unacceptable to end users.From energy saving point of view, a ballast constantly draws power, evenwhen the ballast-compatible LED luminaires are dead or not installed. Inthis sense, any energy saved while using the ballast-compatible LEDluminaires becomes meaningless with the constant energy use by theballast. In the long run, the ballast-compatible LED luminaires are moreexpensive and less efficient than self-sustaining AC mains-operable LEDluminaires.

On the contrary, the AC mains-operable LED luminaire does not require aballast to operate. Before use of the AC mains-operable LED luminaire,the ballast in a fixture must be removed or bypassed. Removing orbypassing the ballast does not require an electrician and can bereplaced by end users. Each AC mains-operable LED luminaire isself-sustaining. Once installed, the AC mains-operable LED luminaireswill only need to be replaced after 50,000 hours. In view of aboveadvantages and disadvantages of both the ballast-compatible LEDluminaires and the AC mains-operable LED luminaires, it seems thatmarket needs a most cost-effective solution by using a universal LEDluminaire that can be used with the AC mains and is compatible with aballast so that LED luminaire users can save an initial cost bychangeover to such an LED luminaire followed by retrofitting theluminaire fixture to be used with the AC mains when the ballast dies.

Furthermore, the AC mains-operable LED luminaires can easily be usedwith emergency lighting, which is especially important in thisconsumerism era. The emergency lighting systems in retail sales andassembly areas with an occupancy load of 100 or more are required bycodes in many cities. Occupational Safety and Health Administration(OSHA) requires that a building's exit paths be properly andautomatically lighted at least ninety minutes of illumination at aminimum of 10.8 lux so that an employee with normal vision can see alongthe exit route after the building power becomes unavailable. This meansthat emergency egress lighting must operate reliably and effectivelyduring low visibility evacuations. To ensure reliability andeffectiveness of backup lighting, building owners should abide by theNational Fire Protection Association's (NFPA) emergency egress lightrequirements that emphasize performance, operation, power source, andtesting. OSHA requires most commercial buildings to adhere to the NFPAstandards or a significant fine. Meeting OSHA requirements takes timeand investment, but not meeting them could result in fines and evenprosecution. If a building has egress lighting problems that constitutecode violations, the quickest way to fix is to replace existingluminaires with multi-function LED luminaires that have an emergencylight package integrated with the normal lighting. The code alsorequires the emergency lights be periodically inspected and tested toensure they are in proper working conditions at all times. It is,therefore, the manufacturers' responsibility to design an LED luminaire,an LED luminaire, or an LED lighting system with a self-diagnosticmechanism such that after the LED luminaire or the LED luminaire isinstalled on a ceiling or a high place in a room, the self-diagnosticmechanism can work with an emergency battery backup system toperiodically auto-test charging and discharging current to meetregulatory requirements without safety issues. Furthermore, whereas thecode also requires that written records documenting the testing bemaintained and available for reviews by local fire departments, themarket needs all of self-diagnostic test results over time to betransmitted to a central station to be recorded and managed when anumber of LED luminaires, each with an emergency-operated portion, aredeployed in a wide area in a building. For a first option, a number ofthe self-diagnostic test results may be stored in the LED luminaires andsent upon request to the central station. In a second option, each ofthe self-diagnostic test data may be individually sent to a data centriccircuitry where a variety of data communication devices can be used tocommunicate between a command data initiator and a root server. In thiscase, a system manager may request the self-diagnostic test results anytime later by accessing the root server via any one of the variety ofdata communication devices. In this disclosure, the second option willbe addressed.

SUMMARY

An LED luminaire comprising a normally operated portion and anemergency-operated portion is used to replace a luminaire operated onlyin a normal mode with the AC mains. The normally operated portioncomprises one or more LED arrays and a power supply unit that powers theone or more LED arrays when a line voltage from the AC mains isavailable. The emergency-operated portion comprises a rechargeablebattery with a terminal voltage, a control and test circuit, a noderadio-frequency (RF) transceiver circuit, and an LED driving circuitconfigured to receive power from the rechargeable battery and to provideor otherwise supply a voltage operating the one or more LED arrays whenthe line voltage from the AC mains is unavailable. The control and testcircuit comprises a self-diagnostic circuit and a charging detection andcontrol circuit. The control and test circuit is configured to eitherenable or disable the LED driving circuit and the power supply unitaccording to availability of the AC mains and whether a rechargeablebattery test is initiated. The charging detection and control circuitcomprises a first transistor circuit configured to detect a chargingvoltage.

The power supply unit comprises at least two electrical conductorsconfigured to receive an input AC voltage, a main full-wave rectifier,and an input filter. The at least two electrical conductors areconfigured to couple to the emergency-operated portion. The mainfull-wave rectifier is coupled to the at least two electrical conductorsand configured to convert the input AC voltage into a primarydirect-current (DC) voltage. The input filter is configured to suppresselectromagnetic interference (EMI) noises. The power supply unit furthercomprises a power switching converter comprising a main transformer anda power factor correction (PFC) and power switching circuit. The PFC andpower switching circuit is coupled to the main full-wave rectifier viathe input filter and configured to improve a power factor and to convertthe primary DC voltage into a main DC voltage with a first LED drivingcurrent. The main DC voltage with the first LED driving current isconfigured to couple to the one or more LED arrays to operate thereof.

The emergency-operated portion further comprises at least one full-waverectifier and a charging circuit. The at least one full-wave rectifieris coupled to the AC mains and configured to convert the line voltagefrom the AC mains into a first DC voltage. The charging circuitcomprises a charging control device, a first transformer, a first groundreference, and a second ground reference electrically isolated from thefirst ground reference. The charging circuit is coupled to the at leastone full-wave rectifier and configured to convert the first DC voltageinto a second DC voltage that charges the rechargeable battery to reacha nominal third DC voltage. The charging circuit is configured tomonitor the second DC voltage and to regulate the charging controldevice in response to various charging requirements. The LED drivingcircuit is configured to convert the terminal voltage of therechargeable battery into a fourth DC voltage with a second LED drivingcurrent to drive the one or more LED arrays when the line voltage fromthe AC mains is unavailable.

The self-diagnostic circuit comprises a real-time clock, a controlportion, and a test portion. The self-diagnostic circuit is configuredto initiate the rechargeable battery test according to predeterminedtest schedules provided by the real-time clock. Each of thepredetermined test schedules comprises a test period immediatelyfollowing an initiation of a test event. Upon the initiation of the testevent, the test period begins with an output of the self-diagnosticcircuit activated to reach a logic-high level and remaining activated soas to enable the LED driving circuit and the test and control unit. Atan end of the test period, the output of the self-diagnostic circuit isinactivated to drop to a logic-low level. Duration of the test period isconfigured to allow the self-diagnostic circuit to control dischargingof the rechargeable battery and to perform the rechargeable batterytest. Specifically, whereas the real-time clock starts with a reset, thepredetermined test schedules comprise a first kind of the test event anda second kind of the test event respectively at an end of each month andat an end of each year after the reset. Respective test periods of thepredetermined test schedules comprise a nominal duration of 30 secondsand 90 minutes.

The charging detection and control circuit further comprises aperipheral circuit. The peripheral circuit is configured to sample afraction of the terminal voltage of the rechargeable battery and todeliver to the test portion to examine over duration of the test periodwhen the rechargeable battery test is initiated by the self-diagnosticcircuit. The test portion is configured to perform a pass/fail test.When the terminal voltage drops below a first predetermined level overthe duration of the test period, the test portion assesses therechargeable battery test as a “failure”, a “no-go”, a “no”, or a “1”.The charging detection and control circuit further comprises at leastone status indicator configured to show self-diagnostic test results.

The control portion is configured to receive a signal from the firsttransistor circuit and to send a first control signal to the chargingcontrol device to inactivate the charging circuit when the rechargeablebattery test is initiated. The charging detection and control circuit iscoupled between the charging circuit and the rechargeable battery andcontrolled by the self-diagnostic circuit. When the first transistorcircuit detects the charging voltage, a pull-down signal is sent to theself-diagnostic circuit to enable a normal charging process. Thecharging detection and control circuit further comprises a chargingcontrol circuit configured to either allow or prohibit a chargingcurrent to flow into the rechargeable battery according to availabilityof the AC mains. The charging control circuit prohibits the chargingcurrent to flow into the rechargeable battery when the rechargeablebattery test is initiated. The charging control circuit comprises asecond transistor circuit and a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effecttransistor (MOSFET). The second transistor circuit is configured toreceive a high-level signal equal to a nominal operating voltage of theself-diagnostic circuit therefrom to pull down a bias voltage of theMOSFET, thereby disconnecting the charging current when the rechargeablebattery test is initiated.

The charging detection and control circuit further comprises at leastone pair of electrical contacts configured to electrically couple therechargeable battery to the charging circuit, the LED driving circuit,and the self-diagnostic circuit to operate thereof when the rechargeablebattery test is initiated or when the line voltage from the AC mains isnot available. When disconnected, the at least one pair of electricalcontacts can prevent the rechargeable battery from being drained. The atleast one pair of electrical contacts comprise electrical contacts in aswitch, a relay, and a jumper, or electrical terminals accommodated forjumper wires. The charging detection and control circuit furthercomprises a test switch coupled to the self-diagnostic circuit andconfigured to manually initiate and terminate either a 30-second test ora 90-minute test of the rechargeable battery. The charging detection andcontrol circuit further comprises at least one status indicatorconfigured to couple to the self-diagnostic circuit. When either the30-second test or the 90-minute test is manually initiated and when theterminal voltage is examined to be respectively lower than either asecond predetermined level or a third predetermined level, theself-diagnostic circuit chooses not to perform respective tests with astatus signal sent to the at least one status indicator to show that therechargeable battery is insufficiently charged for the respective tests.

The real-time clock further comprises a memory whereas theself-diagnostic circuit further comprises a data bus connected to thereal-time clock. At the end of the test period, self-diagnostic testresults of the pass/fail test are serially transmitted via the data busto the memory. Test data of the self-diagnostic test results withinformation of self-diagnostic test time are temporarily stored in thememory and then serially transferred to the node RF transceiver circuitto be sent out. In other words, the memory is configured to storeattribute data of self-diagnostic test results in the pass/fail testaccording to each of the predetermined test schedules with informationof self-diagnostic test time. Both the attribute data of theself-diagnostic test results and the information of the self-diagnostictest time can be serially transferred to the node RF transceiver circuitto be sent out immediately. The real-time clock further comprises aprimary power supply, a backup power supply, and a built-in power-sensecircuit configured to detect power outages and to automatically switchfrom the primary power supply to the backup power supply to sustainoperating the real-time clock without a loss of the predetermined testschedules. The test and control unit may comprise a microcontroller, amicrochip, a microprocessor, or a programmable logic controller.

The emergency-operated portion further comprises a node radio-frequency(RF) transceiver circuit comprising a node modulator-demodulator(MODEM), a first digital interface, and a node controller coupled to thenode MODEM via the first digital interface with data buffered in afirst-in and first-out format. The node MODEM comprises a first set of aplurality of mixers, a first low-noise amplifier, and a first poweramplifier and is configured to either demodulate received phase-shiftkeying (PSK) band-pass signals or modulate attribute data intotransmitted PSK band-pass signals. The node controller is configured toserially transmit and receive the data to and from the self-diagnosticcircuit. In a case, the node RF transceiver circuit further comprises atleast one balanced-to-unbalanced device configured to convert between abalanced signal from the node MODEM and an unbalanced signal from thenode single-ended antenna. That is to say, the at least onebalanced-to-unbalanced device is configured to provide a single-endedmatched impedance between an input to the node single-ended antenna andan output from the node MODEM for maximizing transmit/receiveefficiency. In this disclosure, the emergency-operated portion isintegrated into the LED luminaire with the self-diagnostic circuit toauto-test charging and discharging current of a rechargeable batterywith self-diagnostic test results displayed in a status indicator,supporting dual mode operations of the LED luminaire to work not only ina normal mode but also in an emergency mode. However, as mentionedabove, each of the self-diagnostic test results may be immediately sentout of the self-diagnostic circuit via the node RF transceiver circuit.In other words, each of the self-diagnostic test results may beindividually sent to a root server via a variety of data communicationdevices and stored in the root server. In this case, a system managermay query the self-diagnostic test results by accessing the root server.Although being likely integrated in the LED luminaire, theemergency-operated portion may be attached to the power supply unit tosustain lighting up the one or more LED arrays at a fraction of the fullpower when the line voltage from the AC mains is unavailable.

The emergency-operated portion further comprises a first controllerconfigured to communicate between the test portion and the nodecontroller, ensuring the input command data and the output test datarespectively to be transferred to the self-diagnostic circuit and to thenode RF transceiver circuit to be sent out without a request. The firstcontroller comprises a master portion in a synchronous communicationwith the test portion and a universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter(UART) portion in an asynchronous communication with the node controllerto ensure the input command data and the output test data to betransferred to and from the self-diagnostic circuit without datacorruption.

The LED luminaire may further comprise a remote control unit comprisinga principal RF transceiver circuit, a data-centric circuitry, and aremote user interface. The principal RF transceiver circuit comprises aprincipal MODEM, a second digital interface, and a principal controllercoupled to the principal MODEM via the second digital interface withoutput command data and input test data both buffered in a first-in andfirst-out (FIFO) format. The principal MODEM comprises a second set of aplurality of mixers, a second low-noise amplifier, and a second poweramplifier and is configured to either demodulate received PSK band-passsignals from the node RF transceiver circuit into the input test data ormodulate the output command data into transmitted PSK band-pass signals.The principal controller is configured to serially transfer the inputtest data and the output c data to and from the data-centric circuitry,The remote control unit is configured to wirelessly send the transmittedPSK band-pass signals to the node MODEM in response to a plurality ofsignals from the remote user interface, whereas the principal RFtransceiver circuit is configured to convert the plurality of signalsinto a plurality of sets of binary data characters, each comprising theoutput command data.

The data-centric circuitry comprises at least one first interface deviceconfigured to bridge between universal serial bus (USB) data and UARTdata. In other words, the at least one first interface device is used tobridge between data formatted with USB protocol and data formatted withUART protocol. The data-centric circuitry further comprises at least onesecond interface device coupled to the at least one first interfacedevice. The at least one first interface device is coupled to the atleast one second interface device whereas the at least one secondinterface device is coupled to one another. The at least one secondinterface device is configured to integrate the USB data transmitted andreceived. The data-centric circuitry further comprises a wireless dataportion coupled to the at least one second interface device andconfigured to communicate with mobile devices and data terminals and toimprove capability of system controls and data collections. The wirelessdata portion comprises either a 5^(th) Generation (5G) new radio (NR)wireless data portion backward compatible to a 4G long-term evolution(LTE) wireless data portion or the 4^(th) Generation (4G) LTE wirelessdata portion. The data-centric circuitry further comprises awireless-fidelity (Wi-Fi) portion and a plurality of the fast Ethernetportions both coupled to the at least one second interface device andconfigured to enable a transfer of the output command data from a USBformat to an internet protocol (IP) format and a transfer of the inputtest data from the IP format to the USB format.

The data-centric circuitry further comprises a USB port coupled to theat least one second interface device and configured to communicate withthe remote user interface. The data-centric circuitry further comprisesa microcontroller coupled to the at least one first interface device andconfigured to monitor the principal controller, the wireless dataportion, the Wi-Fi portion, and the plurality of the fast Ethernetportions and to send signals to a plurality of LED indicators to showactivities thereof. The data-centric circuitry further comprises arecommended standard (RS)-232/RS-485 combination comprising an RS-232driver, an RS-232 receiver, an RS-485 driver, and an RS-485 receiver.The RS-232/RS-485 combination is coupled to the at least one firstinterface device and configured to communicate between a computer (PC)in an emergency lighting control system and the principal RF transceivercircuit. The data-centric circuitry further comprises a firstphoto-coupler circuit and a second photo-coupler circuit coupled to theRS-232/RS-485 combination and the at least one first interface deviceand respectively configured to transfer data to and from the at leastone first interface device and to provide electrical isolation betweenthe RS-232/RS-485 combination and the at least one first interfacedevice. Each of the first photo-coupler circuit and the secondphoto-coupler circuit comprises an LED optically coupled to a photodiodeand a transistor, and wherein the output command data and the input testdata are exchanged between the RS-232/RS-485 combination and the atleast one first interface device regardless of different logic levelsbetween thereof. The input test data and the output command data aretransferred to and from the USB port, the wireless data portion, theWi-Fi portion, the RS-232/RS-485 combination, and the plurality of thefast Ethernet portions, allowing data transfers from USB to UART andfrom UART to USB in a way that the USB port, the RS-232/RS-485combination, the wireless data portion, the Wi-Fi portion, and theplurality of the fast Ethernet portions discover, connect, andcommunicate with one another.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the present disclosureare described with reference to the following figures, wherein likereference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various figuresunless otherwise specified. Moreover, in the section of detaileddescription of the invention, any of a “main”, a “primary”, a “first”, a“second”, a “third”, and so forth does not necessarily represent a partthat is mentioned in an ordinal manner, but a particular one.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an LED luminaire according to the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a self-diagnostic circuit according to thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an LED driving circuit according to thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a timing diagram of a self-diagnostic circuit according to thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a node RF transceiver circuit according tothe present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a first controller interconnected between anode controller and a test portion according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a remote control unit according to thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a data-centric circuitry according to thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a plurality of photo-couplers coupled to atleast one first interface device according to the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an LED luminaire according to the presentdisclosure. An LED luminaire 110 is used to replace a fluorescent or anLED luminaire normally operated with the AC mains in a normal mode. InFIG. 1, the LED luminaire 110 comprises an emergency-operated portion810, one or more LED arrays 214 with a forward voltage across thereof,and a power supply unit 311 that powers the one or more LED arrays 214when the line voltage from the AC mains is available. Theemergency-operated portion 810 comprises an LED driving circuit 650configured to provide an emergency power (a voltage and a current) todrive the one or more LED arrays 214 when the line voltage from the ACmains is unavailable. The power supply unit 311 originally designed toreceive the line voltage from the AC mains for general lightingapplications is configured to operate in the normal mode. The powersupply unit 311 comprises at least two electrical conductors “L′” and“N”, a main full-wave rectifier 301, and an input filter 302. The atleast two electrical conductors “L′” and “N” are configured to couple to“L” and “N” via a power switch 360. The main full-wave rectifier 301 isconfigured to convert the line voltage from the AC mains into a primaryDC voltage. In other words, the at least two electrical conductors “L′”and “N” are coupled to a switched power, in which the power supply unit311 can be turned off when the LED luminaire 110 is not in use duringnighttime. The input filter 302 is configured to suppresselectromagnetic interference (EMI) noises. The power supply unit 311further comprises a power switching converter 303 comprising a maintransformer 304 and a power factor correction (PFC) and power switchingcircuit 305. The PFC and power switching circuit 305 is coupled to themain full-wave rectifier 301 via the input filter 302 and configured toimprove a power factor and to allow the power switching converter 303 toconvert the primary DC voltage into a main DC voltage. The main DCvoltage is configured to couple to the one or more LED arrays 214 tooperate thereon. The main transformer 304 comprises a third groundreference 256, electrically isolated from a negative (−) port of themain full-wave rectifier 301. The one or more LED arrays 214 comprises afirst terminal LED+ and a second terminal LED− configured to receive anLED driving current from the first terminal LED+ and to return from thesecond terminal LED− to either the LED driving circuit 650 or the powersupply unit 311, depending on which one is a source of the LED drivingcurrent. The power switching converter 303 is a current sourceconfigured to provide the first LED driving current to the one or moreLED arrays 214 to operate thereon. The PFC and power switching circuit305 comprises a main control device 306 configured to receive apull-down signal via a port “D” to disable the PFC and power switchingcircuit 305 so that the power switching converter 303 ceases to providethe first LED driving current to drive the one or more LED arrays 214when a rechargeable battery test is initiated.

In FIG. 1, the emergency-operated portion 810 further comprises the atleast two electrical conductors “L” and “N” configured to couple to theAC mains, a rechargeable battery 800, at least one full-wave rectifier401, at least one input filter 402 coupled to the at least one full-waverectifier 401, a charging circuit 403, and a control and test circuit701. The at least one full-wave rectifier 401 is coupled to the at leasttwo electrical conductors “L” and “N” and configured to convert the linevoltage from the AC mains into a first DC voltage. The at least oneinput filter 402 is configured to suppress EMI noises. The rechargeablebattery 800 comprises a high-potential electrode 801 and a low-potentialelectrode 802 with a terminal voltage across thereon. The chargingcircuit 403 is an isolated step-down converter and comprises a firstground reference 254, a second ground reference 255 electricallyisolated from the first ground reference 254, a first transformer 404, afeedback control circuit 405, a charging control device 406, a firstelectronic switch 407, and a diode 408. The charging circuit 403 iscoupled to the at least one full-wave rectifier 401 via the input filter402 and configured to convert the first DC voltage into a second DCvoltage that charges the terminal voltage of the rechargeable battery800 to reach a nominal third DC voltage. Please note that the terminalvoltage of the rechargeable battery 800 may be slightly less than thenominal third DC voltage because the rechargeable battery 800 ages or anambient temperature is below an optimum operating temperature. When therechargeable battery 800 badly ages or goes wrong, the terminal voltagemay be far from the nominal third DC voltage. That is why therechargeable battery test is needed to ensure that the rechargeablebattery 800 is working all the time. The feedback control circuit 405 isconfigured to monitor the second DC voltage (V₂) via a diode 431 and toregulate the charging control device 406 according to charging voltageand current requirements. The first transformer 404 comprises a primarywinding coupled to the first ground reference 254 and a secondarywinding coupled to the second ground reference 255. The firsttransformer 404 is configured to provide electrical isolation betweenthe AC mains and the second DC voltage with respect to the second groundreference 255. In FIG. 1, the second ground reference 255 iselectrically coupled to the low-potential electrode 802 to ease acharging current to flow into the rechargeable battery 800 and to returnto the charging circuit 403, completing a power transfer.

In FIG. 1, the control and test circuit 701 further comprises aself-diagnostic circuit 720 and a charging detection and control circuit740. The control and test circuit 701 is configured to either enable ordisable the LED driving circuit 650 via a port denoted as “E” accordingto availability of the AC mains and whether a rechargeable battery testis initiated. The charging detection and control circuit 740 comprises afirst transistor circuit 741 configured to detect a charging voltage(i.e. the second DC voltage) generated from the charging circuit 403. InFIG. 1, the emergency-operated portion 810 further comprises a node RFtransceiver circuit 500 configured to receive and demodulate variousphase-shift keying (PSK) band-pass signals and to communicate with theself-diagnostic circuit 720. The self-diagnostic circuit 720 comprises atest and control unit 721 comprising a test portion 722 and a controlportion 723 respectively configured to examine the terminal voltage andto control charging and discharging of the rechargeable battery 800.

In FIG. 1, the charging detection and control circuit 740 furthercomprises a voltage regulator 746 configured to adjust the nominal thirdDC voltage or the terminal voltage of the rechargeable battery 800 to anoperating voltage of the self-diagnostic circuit 720 to operate thereof.The self-diagnostic circuit 720 further comprises a real-time clock 731.The self-diagnostic circuit 720 is configured to initiate therechargeable battery test according to predetermined test schedulesprovided by the real-time clock 731. The charging detection and controlcircuit 740 further comprises a peripheral circuit 744. The peripheralcircuit 744 is configured to sample a fraction of the terminal voltageof the rechargeable battery 800 and to deliver to the test portion 722to examine over duration of the test period when the rechargeablebattery test is initiated. The test portion 722 is configured to examinethe terminal voltage of the rechargeable battery 800 and to perform apass/fail test. When the terminal voltage drops below a firstpredetermined level over the duration of the test period, the testportion 722 assesses the rechargeable battery test as a “failure”, a“no-go”, a “no”, or a “1”.

In FIG. 1, the control portion 723 is configured to receive a pull-upsignal from the first transistor circuit 741 and to send a first controlsignal via the port “D” to the charging control device 406 to inactivatethe charging circuit 403 when the rechargeable battery test isinitiated. Note that the first control signal is also sent to the maincontrol device 306 via the port “D” to inactivate the power switchingconverter 303 when the rechargeable battery test is initiated. Thecharging detection and control circuit 740 is coupled between thecharging circuit 403 and the rechargeable battery 800 and controlled bythe self-diagnostic circuit 720. When the first transistor circuit 741detects the charging voltage, a pull-down signal is sent to theself-diagnostic circuit 720 to enable a normal charging process. Thecharging detection and control circuit 740 further comprises a chargingcontrol circuit 750 comprising a second transistor circuit 742 and ametal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) 743. Thecharging control circuit 750 is configured to either allow or prohibit acharging current to flow into the rechargeable battery 800 according toavailability of the AC mains. The charging control circuit 750 prohibitsthe charging current to flow into the rechargeable battery 800 when therechargeable battery test is initiated. The second transistor circuit742 is configured to receive a high-level signal equal to a nominaloperating voltage of the self-diagnostic circuit 720 therefrom to pulldown a bias voltage of the MOSFET 743, thereby disconnecting thecharging current when the rechargeable battery test is initiated.

In FIG. 1, the charging detection and control circuit 740 furthercomprises at least one pair of electrical contacts 748 configured toelectrically couple the rechargeable battery 800 to the charging circuit403, the LED driving circuit 650, and the self-diagnostic circuit 720when the at least one pair of electrical contacts 748 are connected.When the rechargeable battery test is initiated or when the line voltagefrom the AC mains is unavailable, power from the rechargeable battery800 can operate both the LED driving circuit 650 and the self-diagnosticcircuit 720. On the other hand, when disconnected, the at least one pairof electrical contacts 748 can safely prevent the rechargeable battery800 from being drained. The at least one pair of electrical contacts 748comprise electrical contacts in a switch, a relay, and a jumper, orelectrical terminals accommodated for jumper wires.

In FIG. 1, the charging detection and control circuit 740 furthercomprises at least one status indicator 747 controlled by theself-diagnostic circuit 720 and configured to show self-diagnostic testresults with various codes. The charging detection and control circuit740 further comprises a test switch 749 coupled to the self-diagnosticcircuit 720 and is configured to manually have the self-diagnosticcircuit 720 initiate the rechargeable battery test. The test switch 749may be further configured to manually have the self-diagnostic circuit720 terminate the rechargeable battery test that is in progress. That isto say, the test switch 749 may be configured to manually initiate andterminate either a 30-second test or a 90-minute test of therechargeable battery 800. When either the 30-second test or the90-minute test is manually initiated and when the terminal voltage isexamined to be respectively lower than either a second predeterminedlevel or a third predetermined level, the self-diagnostic circuit 720may choose not to perform respective tests with a status signal sent tothe at least one status indicator 747 to show that the rechargeablebattery 800 is insufficiently charged for the respective tests.

In FIG. 1, the charging detection and control circuit 740 furthercomprises at least one diode 754 and at least one resistor 755 connectedin series with the at least one diode 754. The at least one diode 754and the at least one resistor 755 are electrically coupled between thecharging circuit 403 and the rechargeable battery 800 and configured tocontrol a current flowing direction and to set up a voltage drop so thatthe first transistor circuit 741 can readily detect whether the chargingvoltage exists and determine whether the line voltage from the AC mainsis available or not. In FIG. 1, the power supply unit 311 furthercomprises a first current blocking diode 308 coupled between the powerswitching converter 303 and the one or more LED arrays 214. The firstcurrent blocking diode 308 is configured to couple to the one or moreLED arrays 214 to prevent the second LED driving current provided by theLED driving circuit 650 from flowing in, avoiding crosstalk. Similarly,the LED driving circuit 650 may further comprise a second currentblocking diode 607 configured to couple to the one or more LED arrays214 to prevent the first LED driving current provided by the powersupply unit 311 from flowing in, avoiding crosstalk.

In FIG. 1, the test and control unit 721 may comprise a microcontroller,a microchip, a microprocessor, or a programmable logic controller. Inthis disclosure, the emergency-operated portion 810 is depicted to beintegrated into the LED luminaire 110 with the self-diagnostic circuit720 to auto-test charging and discharging current of a rechargeablebattery 800 with self-diagnostic test results displayed in a statusindicator, supporting dual mode operations of the LED luminaire 110 towork not only in a normal mode but also in an emergency mode.Furthermore, each of the self-diagnostic test results may beindividually transmitted to a root server to be recorded. It isespecially important when many of the LED luminaire 110 with theemergency-operated portion 810 are widely deployed in a field coveringmany buildings. Although being integrated in the LED luminaire 110 inFIG. 1, the emergency-operated portion 810 may be attached to the powersupply unit 311 to sustain lighting up the one or more LED arrays 214 ata fraction of the full power when the line voltage from the AC mains isunavailable. In FIG. 1, the control and test circuit 701 furthercomprises a first controller 550 coupled between the node RF transceivercircuit 500 and the self-diagnostic circuit 720 and configured tocommunicate between the test portion 722 and the RF transceiver circuit500, ensuring the input command data and the output test datarespectively to be able to transfer to the self-diagnostic circuit 720and to the node RF transceiver circuit 500 to be sent out without arequest. The node RF transceiver circuit 500 further comprises a serialdata input and output interface “T₁” to communicate with the firstcontroller 550.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a self-diagnostic circuit according to thepresent disclosure. As depicted in FIG. 1, the self-diagnostic circuit720 comprises the real-time clock 731 and the test and control unit 721comprising the test portion 722 and the control portion 723. Theself-diagnostic circuit 720 is configured to initiate the rechargeablebattery test according to predetermined test schedules provided by thereal-time clock 731. In FIG. 2, the real-time clock 731 furthercomprises a memory 732 whereas the self-diagnostic circuit 720 furthercomprises a data bus 725 and a serial clock 726 both connected to thereal-time clock 731. At the end of the test period, self-diagnostic testresults of the pass/fail test are serially transmitted via the data bus725 to the memory 732. Test data of the self-diagnostic test resultswith information of self-diagnostic test time are temporarily stored inthe memory 732 and then serially transferred to the node RF transceivercircuit 500 to be sent out. The serial clock 726 is configured tosynchronize such a data transfer via the data bus 725. In other words,the memory 732 is configured to store attribute data of self-diagnostictest results in the pass/fail test according to one of the predeterminedtest schedules with information of self-diagnostic test time such as ayear, a month, and a day in a calendar. Both the attribute data of theself-diagnostic test results and the information of the self-diagnostictest time are serially transferred to the node RF transceiver circuit500 to be sent out immediately. The real-time clock 731 furthercomprises a primary power supply 734, a backup power supply 735, and abuilt-in power-sense circuit 733 configured to detect power outages andto automatically switch from the primary power supply 734 to the backuppower supply 735 to sustain operating the real-time clock 731 without aloss of the predetermined test schedules. As depicted in FIG. 1, thevoltage regulator 746 is configured to adjust the nominal third DCvoltage or the terminal voltage of the rechargeable battery 800 to anoperating voltage of the self-diagnostic circuit 720 to operate thereof.Whereas the primary power supply 734 receives the operating voltage ofthe self-diagnostic circuit 720, the backup power supply 735 uses asmall battery as a backup supply.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the LED driving circuit 650 according tothe present disclosure. The LED driving circuit 650 comprises a step-upconverter 651 comprising an input inductor 652, an electronic switch653, a logic control device 654, at least one diode rectifier 655, and asensing resistor 656. The LED driving circuit 650 further comprises aninput capacitor 657, an output capacitor 658 coupled between the atleast one diode rectifier 655 and the second ground reference 255 at aport “C”, and a Zener diode 662, in which the input capacitor 657 andthe output capacitor 658 are configured to filter out unwanted voltagenoises generated from the step-up converter 651. The LED driving circuit650 is configured to boost the terminal voltage into a fourth DC voltageat a port “B” with respect to the second ground reference 255 and toprovide the second LED driving current. The logic control device 654 isconfigured to control the electronic switch 653 “on” and “off”. The LEDdriving circuit 650 is configured to couple to the terminal voltage(i.e. the nominal third DC voltage, V₃) via a port denoted as “A” fromthe rechargeable battery 800. The LED driving circuit 650 furthercomprises the port “E” to receive an “enable” signal from theself-diagnostic circuit 720 (FIG. 1) to activate the LED driving circuit650 when the line voltage from the AC mains is unavailable or when therechargeable battery test is initiated. The fourth DC voltage is greaterthan an intrinsic forward voltage of the one or more LED arrays 214 toensure operating the one or more LED arrays 214 without failure when theline voltage from the AC mains is unavailable. In other words, the LEDdriving circuit 650 is configured to receive the terminal voltage fromthe rechargeable battery 800 and to convert the terminal voltage intothe fourth DC voltage with the second LED driving current to power upthe one or more LED arrays 214 when the line voltage from the AC mainsis unavailable. On the other hand, the power supply unit 311 isconfigured to provide or otherwise supply the main DC voltage with thefirst LED driving current to power up the one or more LED arrays 214 atfull power and to meet LED luminaire efficacy requirements when the linevoltage from the AC mains is available.

FIG. 4 is a timing diagram of the self-diagnostic circuit 720 accordingto the present disclosure. The self-diagnostic circuit 720 comprises thereal-time clock 731, the test portion 722, and the control portion 723.The self-diagnostic circuit 720 is configured to initiate therechargeable battery test according to predetermined test schedulesprovided by the real-time clock 731. Each of the predetermined testschedules comprises a test period immediately following an initiation ofa test event. Upon the initiation of the test event, such as a firstkind of an initiation 901 and a second kind of an initiation 902, thetest period begins with an output 739 of the self-diagnostic circuit 720activated to reach a logic-high level (i.e. “1” state) and remainingactivated so as to enable the LED driving circuit 650 and the test andcontrol unit 721. At an end of the test period, the output 739 of theself-diagnostic circuit 720 is inactivated to drop to a logic-low level(i.e. “0” state). Duration of the test period is configured to allow theself-diagnostic circuit 720 to control discharging of the rechargeablebattery 800 and to perform the rechargeable battery test. Specifically,whereas the real-time clock starts with a reset, the predetermined testschedules comprise a first kind of the test event 903 and a second kindof the test event 904 respectively at an end of each month and at an endof each year after the reset. The reset is needed when the LED luminaire110 is first installed. The first kind of the test event 903 and asecond kind of the test event respectively comprise a test period 736and a test period 737, which respectively comprise a nominal duration of30 seconds and 90 minutes. In FIG. 4, the output 739 shown comprises twostates “0” and “1”, in which “0” means no voltage appeared or beinginactivated at the output 739 of the self-diagnostic circuit 720 whereas“1” means that the output 739 of the self-diagnostic circuit 720provides a high-level output voltage or is activated. In other words,the self-diagnostic circuit 720 sends the high-level output voltage toenable the LED driving circuit 650 via the port “E” during the testperiod 736 or 737.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a node radio-frequency (RF) transceivercircuit according to the present disclosure. The node RF transceivercircuit 500, served as a node or one of network devices in a local areanetwork (LAN) or a personal area network (PAN), comprises a nodemodulator-demodulator (MODEM) 510, a first digital interface 520, and anode controller 530 coupled to the node MODEM 510 via the first digitalinterface 520 with transmitted data and received data both buffered in aFIFO format. The node MODEM 510 comprises a first set of a plurality ofmixers 511, a first low-noise amplifier 512, and a first power amplifier513 and is configured to either demodulate received phase-shift keying(PSK) band-pass signals or modulate attribute data into transmitted PSKband-pass signals. The node controller 530 is configured to seriallyprovide or otherwise convey the transmitted data and the received datato and from the self-diagnostic circuit 720, respectively, via theserial data input and output interface “T₁”. The self-diagnostic circuit720 may transmit the self-diagnostic test results and the information ofthe self-diagnostic test time to the node RF transceiver circuit 500with the transmitted data sent out immediately. The node RF transceivercircuit 500 further comprises a node single-ended antenna 505. In acase, the node RF transceiver circuit 500 further comprises at least onebalanced-to-unbalanced device 506 configured to convert between abalanced signal from the node MODEM 510 and an unbalanced signal fromthe node single-ended antenna 505. That is to say, the at least onebalanced-to-unbalanced device 506 is configured to provide asingle-ended matched impedance between an input to the node single-endedantenna 505 and an output from the node MODEM 510 for maximizingtransmit/receive efficiency. In other words, this important process isdesigned to ensure signals to transmit without signal reflections andwith a required transmission power. The node controller 530 comprises amicrocontroller, a microchip, or a programmable logic controller, whichmay comprise a network-compliant medium access control (MAC) andprotocol-stack consumer software solutions.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a first controller interconnected betweenthe node controller and the test portion according to the presentdisclosure. In FIG. 6, a first controller 550 comprises a master portion551 in a synchronous communication with the test portion 722 and a UARTportion 552 in an asynchronous communication with the node controller530 to ensure the input command data and the output test data to be ableto transfer to and from the self-diagnostic circuit 720 (FIG. 1) withoutdata corruption. In other words, the master portion 551 is configured tocontrol a communication with the test portion 722, which is served as aslave, with a synchronous data link 554 comprising a master output/slaveinput (MOSI) port (shown with an arrow to the right), a masterinput/slave output (MISO) port (shown with an arrow to the left), and aserial clock 555 configured to control timing and data rates. Thesynchronous data link 554 may further comprise a reset 556. The firstcontroller 550 further comprises a first crystal oscillator 553 toprovide data transfer timing and make a serial data transfer possible.On the other hand, the UART portion 552 is configured to communicatewith the node controller 530 via the serial data input and outputinterface “T₁” and an asynchronous data link 557 for a UART datatransfer. The use of the synchronous data link 554 and the asynchronousdata link 557 ensures the input command data and the output test datarespectively to be able to transfer to the self-diagnostic circuit 720and to the node RF transceiver circuit 500 to be sent out without datacorruption. As shown in FIG. 6, the node RF transceiver circuit 500 mayfurther comprise a second crystal oscillator 558.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a remote control unit according to thepresent disclosure. The remote control unit 600 comprises a remote userinterface 610, a principal RF transceiver circuit 620, and adata-centric circuitry 830. The principal RF transceiver circuit 620,served as a network coordinator in the LAN or the PAN, comprises aprincipal MODEM 621, a second digital interface 622, and a principalcontroller 623 coupled to the principal MODEM 621 via the second digitalinterface 622 with transmitted data and received data both buffered in aFIFO format. The principal MODEM 621 comprises a second set of aplurality of mixers 624, a second low-noise amplifier 625, and a secondpower amplifier 626 and is configured to either demodulate received PSKband-pass signals that comprises attribute data sent from the node RFtransceiver circuit 500 or modulate command data into transmitted PSKband-pass signals. The principal controller 623 is configured toserially provide the transmitted data and the received data to and fromthe data-centric circuitry 830 via a serial data input and outputinterface “T₂” in the principal controller 623. The principal controller623 comprises a microcontroller, a microchip, or a programmable logiccontroller, which may comprise a network-compliant medium access control(MAC) and protocol-stack consumer software solutions same as the nodecontroller 530. The principal controller 623 may further comprise asecond reset configured to cause the principal controller to enter adefault state initiated by the data-centric circuitry 830. The remotecontrol unit 600 is configured to wirelessly send the transmitted PSKband-pass signals to the node MODEM 510 (depicted in FIG. 5) in responseto a plurality of signals from the remote user interface 610. Theprincipal RF transceiver circuit 620 is configured to convert theplurality of signals into a plurality of sets of binary data characters.Each of the plurality of sets of binary data characters comprisescommand data. The remote user interface 610 comprises keyboards 611 in acomputer-based emergency lighting management system. The keyboards 611are configured to generate the plurality of signals. At least two of theplurality of signals are respectively configured to turn on and off thepower supply unit 311, subsequently turning on and off the one or moreLED arrays 214. At least two of the plurality of signals arerespectively configured to initiate and to terminate the rechargeablebattery test. At least one of the plurality of signals is configured toquery the self-diagnostic test results and the information ofself-diagnostic test times from a root server for data reviews. Theremote control unit 600 further comprises a voltage regulator 640 withan enable input configured to turn on power to operate the principal RFtransceiver circuit 620 only when necessary to reduce a powerconsumption. The voltage regulator 640 is also configured to supply avoltage to operate the principal MODEM 621 in response to an enablesignal from the principal controller 623. The principal RF transceivercircuit 620 further comprises a principal single-ended antenna 605 and asecond RF front-end device 607 coupled to the principal single-endedantenna 605.

In FIG. 7, at least two of the second set of the plurality of mixers 624are configured to modulate the plurality of sets of binary datacharacters onto a carrier wave with a carrier phase shifted by 180degrees whenever a binary data character “0” is transmitted. It shouldbe appreciated that PSK signaling outperforming both amplitude-shiftkeying (ASK) and frequency-shift keying (FSK) can be found in DigitalCommunication Theory. Owing to simplicity and reduced error probability,the PSK signaling is widely used in wireless local area network (LAN)standard, IEEE 802.11 and IEEE 802.15 using two frequency bands: at868-915 MHz with binary PSK (BPSK) and at 2.4 GHz with offset quadraturePSK (OQPSK).

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a data-centric circuitry according to thepresent disclosure. The data-centric circuitry 830 comprises at leastone first interface device 841, 842, or 843 configured to bridge betweenUSB data and UART data. In other words, the at least one first interfacedevice 841, 842, or 843 is used to bridge between data formatted with aUSB protocol and data formatted with a UART protocol. The data-centriccircuitry 830 further comprises at least one second interface device 851or 852 coupled to the at least one first interface device 841, 842, or843, For example, the at least one first interface device 841, 842, or843 is coupled to the at least one second interface device 851 whereasthe at least one second interface device 851 is coupled to the at leastone second interface device 852. The at least one second interfacedevice 851 or 852, served as a USB hub, is configured to integrate theUSB data transmitted and received. The data-centric circuitry 830further comprises a wireless data portion 861 coupled to the at leastone second interface device 852 and configured to communicate withmobile devices and data terminals and to improve capability of systemcontrols and data collections. The wireless data portion 861 compriseseither a 5G new radio (NR) wireless data portion backward compatible toa 4G long-term evolution (LTE) wireless data portion or the 4G LTEwireless data portion. In this case, a mobile device may be used toaccess data of the self-diagnostic test results. The wireless dataportion 861 may comprise an antenna configured to increase receivingsensitivity. The data-centric circuitry 830 further comprises awireless-fidelity (Wi-Fi) portion 871 and a plurality of the fastEthernet portions 875 both coupled to the at least one second interfacedevice 852 and configured to enable a transfer of the output commanddata from a USB format to an internet protocol (IP) format and atransfer of the input test data from the IP format to the USB format.The plurality of the fast Ethernet portions 875 may comprise a wide-areanetwork (WAN) port and four local-area network (LAN) ports. The Wi-Fiportion 871 may comprise at least one antenna configured to improvesignal-to-noise ratio.

In FIG. 8, the data-centric circuitry 830 further comprises a USB port881 coupled to the at least one second interface device 852 andconfigured to communicate with the remote user interface 610. The USBport 881 is intended as a bus for devices close to a computer (PC). Forapplications requiring distance from the PC, connections using theplurality of the fast Ethernet portions 875 are needed. The data-centriccircuitry 830 further comprises a microcontroller 891 coupled to the atleast one first interface device 843 and configured to monitor theprincipal controller 623 (FIG. 7), the wireless data portion 861, theWi-Fi portion 871, and the plurality of the fast Ethernet portions 875and to send signals to a plurality of LED indicators (not shown) to showactivities thereof. The data-centric circuitry 830 further comprises athird reset 892 and a first semiconductor device 893 configured to allowa first current flow in one direction and to produce an active low stateto reset the microcontroller 891. The data-centric circuitry 830 furthercomprises a configuration port 894 and a second semiconductor device 895configured to control a second current flow in one direction and to setup the microcontroller 891. Each of the first semiconductor device 893and the second semiconductor device 895 may comprise either a diode or ap-n junction of a transistor, which limits the first or the secondcurrent flow in one direction.

In FIG. 8, the data-centric circuitry 830 further comprises arecommended standard (RS)-232/RS-485 combination 885 coupled to the atleast one first interface device 842 via a plurality of photo-couplers850 and configured to communicate between a computer (PC) in anemergency lighting control system and the principal RF transceivercircuit 620 via the principal controller 623. The input test data andthe output command data are transferred to and from the USB port 881,the wireless data portion 861, the Wi-Fi portion 871, the RS-232/RS-485combination 885, and the plurality of the fast Ethernet portions 875,allowing data transfer from USB to UART and from UART to USB in a waythat the USB port 881, the RS-232/RS-485 combination 885, the wirelessdata portion 861, the Wi-Fi portion 871, and the plurality of the fastEthernet portions 875 discover, connect, and communicate with oneanother.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a plurality of photo-couplers coupled to atleast one first interface device according to the present disclosure. InFIG. 9, the plurality of photo-couplers 850 comprises a firstphoto-coupler circuit 853 and a second photo-coupler circuit 854 coupledto the RS-232/RS-485 combination 885 and the at least one firstinterface device 842. The plurality of photo-couplers 850 may furthercomprise a third photo-coupler (not shown for simplicity) configured toenable the RS-232/RS-485 combination 885. The first photo-couplercircuit 853 and the second photo-coupler circuit 854 are respectivelyconfigured to transfer data to and from the at least one first interfacedevice 842 and to provide electrical isolation between the RS-232/RS-485combination and the at least one first interface device 842. The firstphoto-coupler circuit 853 is exactly the same as the secondphoto-coupler circuit 854. Each of the first photo-coupler circuit 853and the second photo-coupler circuit 854 comprises an LED 855 opticallycoupled to a photodiode 856 further connected with a transistor 857 anda resistor 858. For simplicity, no numeral labels are assigned forelements in the first photo-coupler circuit 853. With high potentials859 and 861 applied, the output command data and the input test data areable to exchange between the RS-232/RS-485 combination 885 and the atleast one first interface device 842 regardless of different logiclevels between thereof. For example, RS-232 standard defines a logic 1as a voltage level between −3 and −25 V and a logic 0 as a voltage levelbetween +3 and +25 V. Voltages between ±3 V are invalid and rejected,providing a large noise margin. However, the at least one firstinterface device 842 has a logic 1 as a voltage level of 3 V and a logic0 as a voltage level 0 V. In FIG. 9, the RS-232/RS-485 combination 885comprises an RS-232 driver 886, an RS-232 receiver 887, an RS-485 driver888, and an RS-485 receiver 889. The RS-232/RS-485 combination 885 iscoupled to the at least one first interface device 842 and configured tocommunicate between a computer (PC) in an emergency lighting controlsystem and the principal RF transceiver circuit 620. In FIG. 9, thereare a third ground reference 257 and a fourth ground reference 258 whichdetermine return current flows respectively to the RS-232/RS-485combination 885 and to the at least one first interface device 842. Alsonote that both the third ground reference 257 and the fourth groundreference 258 have nothing to do with the first ground reference 254 andthe second ground reference 255 depicted in FIG. 1, although symbols ofground references are the same. RS-485 interface is widely used inindustrial applications where higher speeds and longer distances thanRS-232 interface are needed.

Whereas preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have been shownand described, it will be realized that alterations, modifications, andimprovements may be made thereto without departing from the scope of thefollowing claims. Another kind of schemes with an emergency operatedportion operated by using a real-time clock, a test and control unit, anRF transceiver circuit a first controller, a remote control unit with avariety of data communication devices, and various kinds of combinationsto accomplish the same or different objectives could be easily adaptedfor use from the present disclosure. Accordingly, the foregoingdescriptions and attached drawings are by way of example only and arenot intended to be limiting.

What is claimed is:
 1. A light-emitting diode (LED) luminaire,comprising: one or more LED arrays; a power supply unit configured toprovide a main direct-current (DC) voltage with a first LED drivingcurrent to power up the one or more LED arrays at a full power when aline voltage from alternate-current (AC) mains is available; and anemergency-operated portion, comprising: a rechargeable battery with aterminal voltage; at least one full-wave rectifier configured to convertthe line voltage from the AC mains into a first DC voltage; a chargingcircuit comprising a charging control device and a first transformer,the charging circuit coupled to the at least one full-wave rectifier andconfigured to convert the first DC voltage into a second DC voltage thatcharges the terminal voltage of the rechargeable battery to reach anominal third DC voltage; an LED driving circuit comprising an inputinductor, an electronic switch, at least one diode rectifier, and anoutput capacitor coupled to the at least one diode rectifier, the LEDdriving circuit configured to convert the terminal voltage of therechargeable battery into a fourth DC voltage with a second LED drivingcurrent to sustain lighting up the one or more LED arrays at a fractionof the full power when the line voltage from the AC mains isunavailable; a control and test circuit comprising a self-diagnosticcircuit and a charging detection and control circuit, the control andtest circuit configured to enable or disable the LED driving circuit andthe power supply unit according to availability of the AC mains andwhether a rechargeable battery test is initiated, the self-diagnosticcircuit comprising a test and control unit comprising a test portion anda control portion, the test portion configured to generate output testdata; a node radio-frequency (RF) transceiver circuit comprising a nodemodulator-demodulator (MODEM), a first digital interface, and a nodecontroller coupled to the node MODEM via the first digital interfacewith the output test data and input command data both buffered in afirst-in and first-out (FIFO) format, wherein the node MODEM comprises afirst set of a plurality of mixers, a first low-noise amplifier, and afirst power amplifier and is configured to either demodulate receivedphase-shift keying (PSK) band-pass signals or modulate the output testdata into transmitted PSK band-pass signals, and wherein the nodecontroller is configured to serially transfer the input command data andthe output test data to and from the self-diagnostic circuit; and afirst controller configured to communicate between the test portion andthe node controller to result in the input command data and the outputtest data respectively being transferred to the self-diagnostic circuitand to the node RF transceiver circuit to be sent out without a request,wherein: the charging circuit, the LED driving circuit, the power supplyunit, and the control and test circuit are configured to auto-selecteither the main DC voltage or the fourth DC voltage to operate the oneor more LED arrays; the self-diagnostic circuit further comprises areal-time clock, wherein the self-diagnostic circuit is configured toinitiate the rechargeable battery test according to a plurality ofpredetermined test schedules provided by the real-time clock, whereineach of the predetermined test schedules comprises a test periodimmediately following an initiation of a test event, wherein, upon theinitiation of the test event, the test period begins with an output ofthe self-diagnostic circuit activated to reach a logic-high level andremaining activated so as to enable the LED driving circuit and the testand control unit, wherein, at an end of the test period, the output ofthe self-diagnostic circuit is inactivated to drop to a logic-low level,and wherein a duration of the test period is configured to allow theself-diagnostic circuit to control discharging of the rechargeablebattery and to perform the rechargeable battery test; the node RFtransceiver circuit further comprises a node single-ended antenna and atleast one balanced-to-unbalanced device configured to convert between abalanced signal from the node MODEM and an unbalanced signal from thenode single-ended antenna; and the first controller comprises a masterportion in a synchronous communication with the test portion and auniversal asynchronous receiver/transmitter (UART) portion in anasynchronous communication with the node controller to result in theinput command data and the output test data being transferred to andfrom the self-diagnostic circuit without data corruption.
 2. The LEDluminaire of claim 1, wherein the real-time clock starts with a firstreset, wherein the predetermined test schedules comprise a first kind ofthe test event and a second kind of the test event respectively at anend of each month and at an end of each year after the first reset, andwherein respective test periods of the predetermined test schedulescomprise a nominal duration of 30 seconds and 90 minutes.
 3. The LEDluminaire of claim 1, wherein the charging detection and control circuitfurther comprises a first transistor circuit configured to detect acharging voltage, wherein the charging detection and control circuit iscoupled between the charging circuit and the rechargeable battery andcontrolled by the self-diagnostic circuit, and wherein, in response todetecting a charging voltage, the first transistor circuit sends apull-down signal to the self-diagnostic circuit to enable a chargingprocess.
 4. The LED luminaire of claim 1, wherein the charging detectionand control circuit further comprises a charging control circuitcomprising a second transistor circuit and a metal-oxide-semiconductorfield-effect transistor (MOSFET), wherein the charging control circuitis configured to either allow or prohibit a charging current to flowinto the rechargeable battery according to availability of the AC mains,and wherein the charging control circuit is further configured toprohibit the charging current to flow into the rechargeable battery whenthe rechargeable battery test is initiated.
 5. The LED luminaire ofclaim 4, wherein the second transistor circuit is configured to receivea signal with a voltage level equal to a nominal operating voltage ofthe self-diagnostic circuit therefrom to pull down a bias voltage of theMOSFET, thereby disconnecting the charging current when the rechargeablebattery test is initiated.
 6. The LED luminaire of claim 1, wherein thecharging detection and control circuit further comprises a peripheralcircuit configured to sample a fraction of the terminal voltage of therechargeable battery and to deliver to the test portion to examine overthe duration of the test period when the rechargeable battery test isinitiated.
 7. The LED luminaire of claim 6, wherein the test portion isconfigured to perform a pass/fail test, and wherein, when the terminalvoltage drops below a first predetermined level over the duration of thetest period, the test portion assesses a failure for the rechargeablebattery test.
 8. The LED luminaire of claim 6, wherein the chargingdetection and control circuit further comprises a test switch coupled tothe self-diagnostic circuit and configured to initiate and terminateeither a 30-second test or a 90-minute test of the rechargeable battery.9. The LED luminaire of claim 8, wherein the charging detection andcontrol circuit further comprises at least one status indicatorconfigured to couple to the self-diagnostic circuit, and wherein, wheneither the 30-second test or the 90-minute test is initiated and whenthe terminal voltage is examined to be respectively lower than either asecond predetermined level or a third predetermined level, theself-diagnostic circuit chooses not to perform respective tests with astatus signal sent to the at least one status indicator to show that therechargeable battery is insufficiently charged for the respective tests.10. The LED luminaire of claim 1, further comprising: a remote controlunit comprising a principal RF transceiver circuit, a data-centriccircuitry, and a remote user interface, wherein the principal RFtransceiver circuit comprises a principal MODEM, a second digitalinterface, and a principal controller coupled to the principal MODEM viathe second digital interface with output command data and input testdata both buffered in the FIR) format, wherein the principal MODEMcomprises a second set of a plurality of mixers, a second low-noiseamplifier, and a second power amplifier and is configured to eitherdemodulate received PSK band-pass signals from the node RF transceivercircuit into the input test data or modulate the output command datainto transmitted PSK band-pass signals, wherein the principal controlleris configured to serially transfer the input test data and the outputcommand data to and from the data-centric circuitry, wherein the remotecontrol unit is configured to wirelessly send the transmitted PSKband-pass signals to the node MODEM in response to a plurality ofsignals from the remote user interface, wherein the principal RFtransceiver circuit is configured to convert the plurality of signalsinto a plurality of sets of binary data characters, and wherein each ofthe plurality of sets of binary data characters comprises the outputcommand data.
 11. The LED luminaire of claim 10, wherein thedata-centric circuitry comprises at least one first interface deviceconfigured to bridge between UART data from the principal controller anduniversal serial bus (USB) data.
 12. The LED luminaire of claim 11,wherein the data-centric circuitry further comprises at least one secondinterface device coupled to the at least one first interface device andconfigured to integrate the USB data transmitted to and received fromthe at least one first interface device.
 13. The LED luminaire of claim12, wherein the data-centric circuitry further comprises a wireless dataportion coupled to the at least one second interface device andconfigured to communicate with mobile devices and data terminals and toimprove capability of system controls and data collections, and whereinthe wireless data portion comprises either a 5^(th) Generation (5G) newradio (NR) wireless data portion backward compatible to a 4^(th)Generation (4G) long-term evolution (LTE) wireless data portion or the4G LTE wireless data portion.
 14. The LED luminaire of claim 13, whereinthe data-centric circuitry further comprises a wireless-fidelity (Wi-Fi)portion and a plurality of the fast Ethernet portions both coupled tothe at least one second interface device and configured to enable atransfer of the output command data from a USB format to an internetprotocol (IP) format and a transfer of the input test data from the IPformat to the USB format.
 15. The LED luminaire of claim 14, wherein thedata-centric circuitry further comprises a USB port coupled to the atleast one second interface device and configured to communicate with theremote user interface.
 16. The LED luminaire of claim 15, wherein thedata-centric circuitry further comprises a microcontroller coupled tothe at least one first interface device and configured to monitor theprincipal controller, the wireless data portion, the Wi-Fi portion, andthe plurality of the fast Ethernet portions and to send signals to aplurality of LED indicators to show activities thereof.
 17. The LEDluminaire of claim 16, wherein the data-centric circuitry furthercomprises a third reset and a first semiconductor device configured toallow a first current flow in one direction and to produce an active lowstate to reset the microcontroller.
 18. The LED luminaire of claim 17,wherein the data-centric circuitry further comprises a recommendedstandard (RS)-232/RS-485 combination comprising an RS-232 driver, anRS-232 receiver, an RS-485 driver, and an RS-485 receiver, and whereinthe RS-232/RS-485 combination is coupled to the at least one firstinterface device and configured to communicate between a computer (PC)in an emergency lighting control system and the principal RF transceivercircuit.
 19. The LED luminaire of claim 18, wherein the data-centriccircuitry further comprises a first photo-coupler circuit and a secondphoto-coupler circuit coupled to the RS-232/RS-485 combination and theat least one first interface device and respectively configured totransfer data to and from the at least one first interface device and toprovide electrical isolation between the RS-232/RS-485 combination andthe at least one first interface device, wherein each of the firstphoto-coupler circuit and the second photo-coupler circuit comprises anLED optically coupled to a photodiode and a transistor, and wherein theoutput command data and the input test data are exchanged between theRS-232/RS-485 combination and the at least one first interface deviceregardless of different logic levels between thereof.
 20. The LEDluminaire of claim 19, wherein the input test data and the outputcommand data are transferred to and from the USB port, the wireless dataportion, the Wi-Fi portion, the RS-232/RS-485 combination, and theplurality of the fast Ethernet portions, allowing data transfer from USBto UART and from UART to USB in a way that the USB port, theRS-232/RS-485 combination, the wireless data portion, the Wi-Fi portion,and the plurality of the fast Ethernet portions discover, connect, andcommunicate with one another.
 21. The LED luminaire of claim 10, whereinat least two of the plurality of signals are respectively configured toinitiate and to terminate the rechargeable battery test.
 22. The LEDluminaire of claim 10, wherein at least one of the plurality of signalsis configured to request self-diagnostic test results and information ofself-diagnostic test times from a root server for data reviews.